Wouldn’t it be great if someone gave you a ‘how to’ book that guided you step by step through a definitive approach to solving all your marketing challenges? A simple approach that would work every time for every organization in every category – the ‘new marketing black’ for 2012.
But for every ‘how to’ guide espousing a new approach there’s always another eschewing it. The point is that if anyone ever tells you they have a silver bullet for your marketing problems, or that their approach is more measurable, more contagious, more ethical, or simply more catch-all ‘effective’ than other approaches, get out your magnifying glass!
Marketing – from promoting the latest car, to raising awareness of a little-known social issue, to making one brand of toothpaste or one financial service stand out – is more complex than many practitioners (who are usually touting a specific solution) would have you believe.
You can also forget about looking at other brands’ seemingly successful tactical marketing activities and trying to replicate them in a hit-or-miss gamble. Just because something worked once for one company in one sector, doesn’t mean it will work for anyone else – or even work again for the original business.
Here’s 12 tips to remember that may help you make the right choices when thinking about your next marketing campaign.
- There is no marketing silver bullet
- Take the time to understand the territory of any marketing approach you are not fully familiar with – read books for and against the new approach, consult experts, participate in workshops.
- Marketing is matchmaking: marry the problem or opportunity you have with the most appropriate approach, which will not always be the simplest or most commonly used one.
- Focus on the outcome you want to achieve, not what technique you want to use.
- Any marketing technique, even advertising can help generate word of mouth (WOM)
- The key to generating WOM is to deliver experiences that exceed expectations, because people only talk about experiences worth talking about.
- A person’s overall experience of a brand shapes their emotional connection with that brand and comes from every touchpoint, not just product or service contact.
- Make sure your brand’s story resonates with consumers. It will help set their expectations in the first place.
- Don’t confuse buzz or WOM with advocacy
- Identify and connect with your brand’s influencers.
- Listen to your brand’s stakeholders and ignite conversations yourself via social media (though remember that noise is not the same as insight)
- Enable key stake holders to participate in creating product and service innovations at the heart of your business.
At the end of the day, you’re only in business for as long as you create something that people need or want. Remember marketing is not all about ‘selling stuff’ it can also help you better understand your customers and what drives them to use your products and services – more importantly if the right approach is taken it can help you better understand what drives them to talk about your business. In this social-media lead world consumer advocacy is even more important and you may only get one chance to get it right…..but remember there is no silver bullet!